Natural Ingredients Common in the Trás-os-Montes Region (Portugal) for Use in the Cosmetic Industry: A Review about Chemical Composition and Antigenotoxic Properties

The natural cosmetics market has grown since consumers became aware of the concept of natural-based ingredients. A significant number of cosmetics have an ecological impact on the environment and carry noxious and chemically potent substances. Thus, the use of natural and organic cosmetics becomes increasingly important since it is clear that topical treatment with cosmeceuticals can help improve skin rejuvenation. A substantial investigation into the benefits that fruits and plants can bring to health is required. Studies have shown that antigenotoxic properties are linked to anti-aging properties. Several studies have shown potential antigenotoxicity in natural ingredients such as Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Olives (Olea europaea), and Grapes (Vitis vinifera). This review presents an overview of research conducted on these natural ingredients, the most common in the Northeast of Portugal. This region of Portugal possesses the most organic farmers, and ingredients are easily obtained. The Northeast of Portugal also has climatic, topographic, and pedological differences that contribute to agricultural diversity.

Production status, export analysis, and future prospects of ginger in Nepal

Ginger is one of the high-value spices crops of Nepal possessing the huge potential of export to the global market. Among Nepal’s natural gifts are agricultural diversity and varied topography making the land suitable for ginger production. The main aim of this study was to scrutinize the current status of ginger production, annual growth rate, its import and export as well as prospects of the Nepali ginger. Fundamentally, secondary data were collected from authentic sources, and then were assembled in Microsoft Excel, and diagrams were generated. ArcGIS software was used to create the map. Findings revealed that the production of ginger is in an increasing trend with an average annual growth rate of 6.67%. Nepal contributed about 9.2% of the global ginger production, despite its small area. Ginger is exported primarily to India because of the lack of an internationally accredited testing laboratory. From this study, it can be concluded that Nepal has comparative advantages in growing ginger, which is noticeable with the geographical features and well-adapted local varieties. The trend of enormous growth in ginger production and its export indicates that ginger production and trade could be a potential enterprise contributing to the national economy. It is recommended to focus on enhancing ginger productivity by providing training and extension services to farmers, subsidies, establishing ginger processing units, easy and reliable certification within the country, and enhancing diplomatic relations for easy market accessibility for strengthening the ginger sub-sector.

Talonpoikaistulevaisuus

Smaje, ChrisA Small Farm Future: Making the Case for a Society Built Around Local Economies, Self-Provisioning, Agricultural Diversity and a Shared Earth. Chelsea Green Publishing: London, 2020. (311 s.)

Crop Rotation Enhances Agricultural Sustainability: From an Empirical Evaluation of Eco-Economic Benefits in Rice Production

Cropping systems greatly impact the productivity and resilience of agricultural ecosystems. However, we often lack an understanding of the quantitative interactions among social, economic and ecological components in each of the systems, especially with regard to crop rotation. Current production systems cannot guarantee both high profits in the short term and social and ecological benefits in the long term. This study combined statistic and economic models to evaluate the comprehensive effects of cropping systems on rice production using data collected from experimental fields between 2017 and 2018. The results showed that increasing agricultural diversity through rotations, particularly potato–rice rotation (PR), significantly increased the social, economic and ecological benefits of rice production. Yields, profits, profit margins, weighted dimensionless values of soil chemical and physical (SCP) and heavy metal (SHM) traits, benefits and externalities generated by PR and other rotations were generally higher than successive rice cropping. This suggests that agricultural diversity through rotations, particularly PR rotation, is worth implementing due to its overall benefits generated in rice production. However, due to various nutrient residues from preceding crops, fertilizer application should be rationalized to improve the resource and investment efficiency. Furthermore, we internalized the externalities (hidden ecological and social benefits/costs) generated by each of the rotation systems and proposed ways of incenting farmers to adopt crop rotation approaches for sustainable rice production.

Agricultural Diversity and Sustainability: General Features and Bangladeshi Illustrations

Many scientists have expressed concern that declining agricultural diversity threatens agricultural sustainability. We draw on the available literature to outline and examine mechanisms that reduce agricultural diversity and identify the at-risk attributes of agricultural sustainability. Using a three-pillar concept embodying ecological, social and economic dimensions, this article provides a comprehensive general assessment of the sustainability of agricultural systems. It pays particular attention to consequences for agricultural diversity and sustainability of the increasing dependence of agriculture on the market system and new agricultural technologies. As an illustrative example, it examines changes in the diversity and sustainability of Bangladeshi agriculture by applying a novel index of the diversity of cropping land use, an output decomposition method, and statistical techniques. Crop diversity in Bangladesh is very low and dominated by the cultivation of rice, which now depends very heavily on a limited number of high yielding varieties (HYVs). Higher rice yields in Bangladesh and seasonal changes in rice cultivation have resulted in land sparing, which make room for greater crop diversity. Nevertheless, Bangladesh’s food dependence on its rice output is very high and is critically dependent on groundwater irrigation. We recommend that Bangladesh consider increasing the diversity of its crops as a food security measure and as a hedge against a decline in its agricultural sustainability.